Living without a gallbladder

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ located below the liver, partially hidden by it. It is part of the gastrointestinal tract of all humans and quadrupedal animals. It is a hollow and small organ, and its main function is to collect and store bile that is used for digestion.

The gallbladder is connected to the small intestine (duodenum) of the bile duct (cystic duct and then into the common bile duct). It storages bile which could become what is known as gallstones, that can cause a number of conditions when they begin to grow or increase in quantity, conditions such as obstruction of bile duct, for example, which generates inflammation, infections and other ailments. Inflammation of the gallbladder is called cholecystitis.

The gallstones are generated mainly by a neglected diet, high consumption of junk food and harmful excess fat, too much salt and seasoning, and a sedentary lifestyle. The main component of most gallstones is cholesterol, although in some cases, the stones are made of calcium. You should know that bile contains large amounts of cholesterol that usually remains liquid. Hence the importance of eating a proper diet and low in bad cholesterol.

When gallstones obstruct either partially or temporarily a bile duct, then you have pain, which tends to increase and decrease in intensity depending on the severity of obstruction (renal colic). The pain usually increases gradually until reaching the apex and then falls gradually. This pain can be acute and intermittent, lasting several hours and in different parts of the abdomen, usually in the upper right. The most common is that the person has nausea and vomiting accompanied by pain; other symptoms include jaundice, chills and fever.

Prevent the occurrence of stones and prevent them from growing is possible by following a proper diet, habits and effective treatments. However, people do not always have information about health care for the gallbladder, and then they decide to remove them. Some people believe that since it is not a key organ of the body, it is somewhat an "easy" decision to remove it. However, before making a decision, it is necessary to do everything possible so that it regains its health.

If you have taken the decision to remove, or it had already been removed, then life in terms of eating habits should be modified. To understand how a to live without gallbladder, you should know the basic functions that it fulfilled.

It is said that it stores and concentrates bile secreted by the liver to be required for digestion. Every time you eat something, the segregation of bile (a greenish-brown liquid) is activated, especially when eating fats or meat. At this time, the gallbladder was in charge of releasing concentrated bile quickly so the meat and fat could digest in a prompt and effective way. The gallbladder bile stored caused that cholesterol, fat and vitamins from foods were more readily soluble and thus you could absorb it better. When food reaches the small intestine, a series of hormonal and nerve signals cause contraction of the gallbladder and the opening of a sphincter to allow the flow of bile.

Now, in the absence of gallbladder, fats and meats that are hard to digest and food cannot be emulsified with bile; the microspheres to facilitate their digestion, absorption and bowel movements don’t appear as well, which causes that food remains longer in the intestines and putrefaction takes place within the body. Thus, the body has to work harder to perform digestion and elimination of harmful fats and waste, which generates an early fermentation of food and thus producing what is known as toxemia or internal fever, excessive heat in the body due to increased bacteria and toxic substances accumulated in the body. The internal fever is the cause and the main reason of all diseases.